Ball Launch and Catch Game

ABSTRACT

A one or two player ball game assembly comprising a motorized ball launcher that shoots balls upwards into the air in a random fountain like pattern. Each player catches or retrieves the launched balls and places them back into their designated reservoir. The reservoir gravity feeds the balls back into a striker mechanism. In one embodiment, the reservoirs are clear tubes so that each player may monitor the number of balls in each player&#39;s reservoir during play. The clear tubes also act as a fence, keeping each player on their respective sides thus minimizing possible collisions during play. In one embodiment, the game operates on an adjustable timer (e.g. 1-15 minutes) which automatically terminates powered to the motorized striker. The timer may also trigger an audible signal (e.g. bell) when the game is over. The winner is the player with the most balls in their reservoir at the end of play. In the single player game, a single reservoir is used and the player&#39;s score is the number of balls in the reservoir when the game ends.

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to indoor ball games, pingpong ball feeder mechanisms, and, more particularly to games involvingcatching a ball, and placing it back into an apparatus thatautomatically launches it back into the air.

BACKGROUND

There are a multitude of indoor ball games including billiards, pingpong, and ball tossing games typically involving throwing a ball into ahoop, hole, or at a target. There are also many variations of gamesusing a ping pong ball including games like beer pong, where balls arebounced into a cup. There are also several types of mechanisms thatautomatically shoot or launch a ball into the air using a ping pongball. These mechanisms typically involve launching the ball using a pairof spinning wheels, or by striking the ball with a spring loadedmechanism. The ping pong ball feeders on the market are manufactured foruse as an apparatus to practice the game of ping pong. The mechanismstypically attach to a ping pong table and feed balls to a player so theycan practice their shots using a ping pong paddle.

SUMMARY

The embodiments of the invention provide a game that automaticallylaunches balls one by one upwards into the air in in a random fountainlike pattern. One or more player(s) then catch the balls in mid air, orretrieves them on the ground. The player(s) then places the ball backinto their designated reservoir where they are fed back into theinvention to be launched again.

The reservoirs provide a clear indication of how many balls are in thereservoir. This may be accomplished by using clear tubes with insidediameters slightly larger than the ball diameter so that the balls forma sleeve of balls whose length (or number of balls) is easilydistinguished during play.

The invention may run on an adjustable timer switch (e.g. 1-15 minutes).In the two player game, each player places balls into their designatedreservoir and the game begins with multiple balls in each reservoir. Thefeed mechanism of the invention alternates between reservoirs whenfeeding balls into the ball striking mechanism. When the timer switchexpires, and the motorized feeder stops, the winner is the player withthe most balls in their reservoir. To prevent collisions when catchingand retrieving balls, the reservoir tubes act as a fence betweenplayers, each player must stay on their side during play.

In the single player game, a deflector may be attached attached to theinvention to ensure balls are launched on the side towards the singleplayer. Only one reservoir is used and when the game ends, the score isthe number of balls left in the reservoir.

The invention uses a geared electric motor to turn a drive shaft withone or more cam drivers that actuate a spring loaded striker to propelthe balls into the air. In one embodiment, the invention may userotating disks and apertures to feed in balls from the tubularreservoirs.

The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or everyimplementation of the invention. Rather, a more complete understandingof the invention will become apparent and appreciated by reference tothe following Detailed Description of exemplary embodiments and claimsin view of the accompanying figures of the drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be further described with reference to the figures ofthe drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of the ball launch and catch gameinvention showing a ball launched into the air;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top isometric view of the housing assembly andfeed assemblies being assembled;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top isometric view of the upper housing assemblyshowing the striker mechanism;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged isometric view of the lower housing showing thebattery compartment;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assemblywith the upper housing and drive shaft removed;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assemblywith the upper housing removed and the drive shaft shown;

FIG. 7A is a section view of the housing assembly showing the initialcontact between the cam driver on the drive shaft and the striker;

FIG. 7B is a section view of the housing assembly showing the rotatingcam driver moving the striker in the downward direction;

FIG. 7C is a section view of the housing assembly showing the rotatingcam driver moving the striker to its lowest position when the cam driverloses contact with the striker;

FIG. 7D is a section view of the housing assembly showing the springloaded striker snapping back to its original upward position resultingin the ball being propelled in the upward direction;

FIG. 7E is a section view of the housing assembly showing the apertureon the rotating disk allowing the next ball to be fed into the strikercup;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged isometric view of the drive shaft including itstwo disks and two cam drivers;

The figures are rendered primarily for clarity and are not necessarilydrawn to scale. Moreover, various structure/components, including butnot limited to fasteners, electrical components (wiring, cables, etc.),and the like, may be removed from some or all of the views whereinclusion of such structure/components is not necessary to understandthe various exemplary embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying figures of the drawingwhich form a part hereof, and in which are shown, by way ofillustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed.

It is understood that individual parts may be assembled by severaldifferent means including, but not limited to, screws, bolts, adhesives,pins, retaining rings, press fits etc. without departing from the scopeof the invention.

For simplicity, the wiring between electrical components and the motordrives has been eliminated. It is understood that all of the electricalcomponents are connected by some form of wiring.

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of the ball launch and catch game 10showing a ball 16 launched into the air in generally vertical trajectory18 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Two detachableball feed assemblies (12 a, 12 b) attach without the need for fastenersto the housing assembly 14. The two feed assemblies (12 a, 12 b) act asa fence between players, each must stay on their side during play tohelp prevent collisions between players. When the ball 16 flies to aplayer's side, they catch or retrieve the ball and place it back intotheir designated feed assembly (12 a, 12 b) by placing it in the funnel20. At the end of the game, the player with the most balls 16 in theirfeed assembly (12 a, 12 b) wins. In the single player game only one feedassembly 12 a is attached and the player's score is the number of ballsin the feed assembly 12 a when the game ends.

It is up to the players to decide how many initial balls start in eachreservoir, and the game may be handicapped by adjusting the number ofballs (e.g., a poor performing player may start with more balls in theirreservoir).

The ball feed assemblies (12 a, 12 b) are comprised of a funnel 20 aclear tube 22, and a housing connector 24. The funnel 20 and housingconnector 24 may be comprised of injection molded parts and fastened tothe clear tube using a press fit or an adhesive. They may also be moldedout a clear material (e.g. polystyrene or acrylic) so that the balls 16may be seen inside them. The clear tube 22 may be made of an extrudedplastic material such as polystyrene.

The clear tube 22 acts as a reservoir for a plurality of balls 16 thatmay be ping pong balls or other lightweight plastic balls with a rigidouter shell. The inner diameter of the clear tube 22 may be slightlylarger than the outer diameter of the balls 16 so that they form astring or sleeve of balls where each player may easily see how many arein each reservoir during play. The clear tube 22 may also be angled fromhorizontal (e.g., 45 to 70 degrees) so that the balls 16 are gravity fedinto the housing assembly 14. The clear tubes 22 may also havegraduations, and/or numbers (not shown) to aid in assessing the numberof balls in each reservoir.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top isometric view of the housing assembly 14 andfeed assemblies (12 a, 12 b) being assembled. The housing connector 24contains two receptacles 28 that insert into insertion bosses 30 in thetop housing 34 by lowering the assembly in the downward direction 40until they mate and bottom out. The receptacles 28 in the housingconnector 24 are joined by a tubular feature 26 that also mates with atubular feature 32 in the top housing 34, these mating features provideadditional stability during insertion. These features provide a means ofjoining the feed assemblies (12 a, 12 b) to the housing assembly 14,once inserted, gravity holds the feed assemblies (12 a, 12 b) securelyin place.

The housing assembly 14 consists in part of the upper housing 34 and thelower housing 36 which may be fastened together using screws (shownlater). The housings may be injection molded parts. The housing assembly14 may also contain a timer switch 38, which may be a spring loadeddevice that when turned to the desired run time (e.g., 1 to 15 minutes),the invention will feed and launch balls 16 into the air for the desiredtime. When the time elapses, the invention will turn itself off and thegame is over. The timer switch 38 may also provide an audible sound suchas a bell when time elapses and the game ends. The housing assembly 14may also contain an adjustable speed controller (not shown) to controlthe speed of the motor feeding the balls.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top isometric view of the housing assembly 14showing the striker mechanism. The balls 16 are fed one by one into thestriker cup 44. The balls 16 are prevented from entering the striker cup44 because they are trapped between the housing connector flange 42 anda disk 46 a. The balls 16 enter only when an aperture (shown later) inthe disk 46 a allows the ball 16 to enter the striker cup 44. There is arotating disk (46 a, 46 b) at the base of both ball feed assemblies (12a, 12 b) and apertures in both disks alternate feeding balls from bothfeed assemblies.

The striker pin 48 protrudes upwards from a hole in the upper housing34. A raised ring 50 surrounds the hole which provides a means ofproducing random ball flight trajectories. As the ball 16 enters thestriker cup 44, it rotates around the striker cup 44 and raised ring 50such that the center of the ball 16 is never in line with the axis ofthe striker pin 48. The striker pin 48 always strikes the ball offcenter creating a random fountain like trajectory patterns.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged isometric view of the bottom housing 36 showingthe battery compartment 52. The ball launch and catch game 10 isactuated by a DC gear motor (shown later) and may be powered by standardDC batteries. A battery compartment 52 sized for eight 1.5 volt AAbatteries is shown. The batteries may be connected in series to increasethe supply voltage. Many other power sources may be used including othercombinations of standard DC battery sizes and quantities, rechargeablebatteries, and internal or external power supplies. A battery door 54may be fastened to the lower housing 36 using screws 56, although othermeans (e.g. snap fits, tabs etc.) may also be used.

The upper housing 34 and lower housing 36 may be fastened together usingscrews 60 that pilot through holes 62 in the lower housing 36 intothreaded holes (not shown) in the upper housing 34. Other variations ofattachment may include self tapping screws, adhesives, sonic welding,threaded inserts, etc.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assembly14 with the upper housing 34 and drive shaft removed. A DC gear motor 66may be attached to a motor plate 64 using flat head screws (not shown).The DC motor plate assembly may then be secured to the upper housing 34and lower housing 36 using flanges 65 that mate with the edges of themotor plate 64. The DC motor plate assembly is further captivated byhalf round cut outs 80 in the upper housing 34 and lower housing 36 thatwrap around cylindrical features in the DC gear motor 66 and drive shaft98 (see FIG. 6). The DC gear motor may be a 6-12 Volt motor with anoperating speed of 25-100 rotations per minute.

The timer switch 38 may be attached the lower housing by a threaded Dshaft 88 protruding from the timer housing 84 and a nut 86. The nut 86also captivates the face plate 88 which has time increment markings(e.g. 1-15 minutes). The knob 90 may then be press fit onto the threadedD shaft to complete the assembly.

The striker 74 slides up and down on two posts (68 a and 68 b) which arecaptivated by bosses 78 in the lower housing and upper housing (notshown). In order to prevent binding, the clearance between the firststriker hole 72 and post 68 a may be less than the second hole 70 andpost 68 b, or, the second hole may be slotted. Two compression springs76 form a slip fit over the outside diameters of the posts (68 a and 68b) and provide an upward force against the striker 74.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front isometric view of the lower housing assembly14 with the upper housing 34 removed and the drive shaft 45 shown. Oneach end of the drive shaft 45 are two disks 46 a and 46 b that act asgates preventing the balls 16 from entering the striker cup 44. On eachend of the drive shaft 45 are also two cam drivers 94 a and 94 b whichactuate the striker 74. Each full rotation of the drive shaft 45actuates the striker 74 two times. The drive shaft 45 may be fixated tothe D shaft 82 of the gear motor 66 (see FIG. 5) using a set screw 96that seats down on the flat of the D shaft 82. The drive shaft 45 may befixated to the DC gear motor 66 by other means such as adhesives, pressfits, locking collars, split collars, etc. On the end of the drive shaftis a cylindrical shaft 98 that is captivated by half round cut outs 80(see FIG. 5) in the upper housing 34 and lower housing 36 that wraparound the cylindrical shaft 98.

FIG. 7A is a section view of the housing assembly 14 showing the contactpoint 104 between the cam driver 94 a on the drive shaft 45 and thestriker 74. The drive shaft 45, disk 46 a, and cam driver 94 a allrotate as a single part in the clockwise direction 100 powered by the DCgear motor 66.

FIG. 7B is a section view of the housing assembly 14 showing the camdriver 94 a moving the striker 74 in the downward direction. The camdriver 94 a pushes down on the striker 74 at contact point 104, roundedsurfaces on both the cam driver 94 a and striker 74 minimize the wearbetween parts. The two compression springs 76 compress as the striker 74moves downward increasing the upward force against the striker 74 whichis guided by the two posts 68 a and 68 b (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 7C is a section view of the housing assembly 14 showing therotating cam driver 94 a moving the striker 74 to its lowest positionwhen the cam driver 94 a loses contact with the striker 74 at contactpoint 104.

FIG. 7D is a section view of the housing assembly 14 showing the springloaded striker 74 snapping back to its original upward position. At thispoint the striker pin 48 strikes the ball 16 and propels it in theupward direction 106. The impact may propel the ball 16 two to eightfeet into the air. The impact force may depend on, but is not limited tothe spring forces (e.g. spring constant, wire diameter, etc.), thestroke length of spring compression, and the characteristics of the ball(e.g. ball weight, outer shell hardness, etc.).

FIG. 7E is a section view of the housing assembly 14 showing theaperture 102 a on the disk 46 a allowing the next ball 16 to be fed intothe striker cup 44. FIG. 8 is an enlarged hidden line isometric view ofthe drive shaft 45 including its two disks (46 a, 46 b), two cam drivers(94 a, 94 b), and two apertures (102 a, 102 b). The cam drivers (94 a,94 b) and apertures (102 a, 102 b) are positioned relative to each otherwhereby a ball 16 is fed between strikes (ball 16 propelled into theair). The apertures (102 a, 102 b) are also 180 degrees apart so that aball 16 is fed from each reservoir, alternating between them.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ball game assembly comprising: a plurality ofballs, two or more reservoirs proving a means of storing the said balls,a drive shaft comprising two or more disks and one or more cam driversurging a ball striker, an electric motor providing a means of rotatingthe said drive shaft, an aperture in each of the said disks providing ameans of alternating the feeding of said balls from each of the saidreservoirs to the said ball striker whereby the said ball strikerlaunches the said balls in an upwards direction.
 2. The ball gameassembly of claim 1, wherein the said reservoirs are transparent, orcontain openings whereby the players may see the balls in the reservoirsduring play.
 3. The ball game assembly of claim 2, wherein the saidreservoirs are elongated placing the balls in a generally single fileorientation providing a means of determining the number of balls in eachreservoir during play.
 4. The ball game assembly of claim 3, wherein thesaid elongated reservoirs are angled from horizontal whereby gravity canbe used to feed the said balls to the said ball striker.
 5. The ballgame assembly of claim 1, wherein a striker cup and raised circular bossprovide a means of placing the said ball in a random slightly off centerorientation whereby the said striker launches the said balls in a randomvertical fountain like pattern.
 6. The ball game assembly of claim 1,wherein the said reservoirs are easily detachable from the strikerassembly without the use of fasteners.
 7. The ball game assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the said striker is biased in the upward direction byone or more compression springs.
 8. A method of playing a ball game withtwo players comprising: designating a reservoir containing balls to eachsaid player, turning on the said ball game whereby power is supplied toa ball launcher, catching or retrieving said balls as they are launchedinto the air by the said ball launcher, placing the said balls back intoeach said player's said designated reservoir whereby they are fed backinto the said ball launcher, turning off the said ball game wherebypower is removed from the said ball launcher, whereby the game winner isthe said player with the most said balls in their said designatedreservoir.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein a timer switch may be usedwhereby the said ball game play time may be adjusted and the said balllauncher automatically shuts off
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein thesaid reservoirs are elongated and angled from horizontal wherebyproviding a means of separation between said players in order to keepeach said player on their respective sides thereby preventing collisionsduring play.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein the speed of the saidball launcher may be adjustable.
 12. A method of playing a ball gamewith one player comprising: a reservoir containing a plurality of balls,turning on the said ball game whereby power is supplied to a balllauncher, catching or retrieving said balls as they are launched intothe air by the said ball launcher, placing the said balls back into thesaid reservoir whereby they are fed back into the said ball launcher,turning off the said ball game whereby power is removed from the saidball launcher, whereby the said player's score is the number of saidballs in the said reservoir.